The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Bengals skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 14 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Joe Burrow, QB
Joe Burrow is averaging 27 fantasy points per game in prime time this season, passing for 1,316 yards, 10 touchdowns, and zero interceptions in those four games.
Burrow has thrown at least three touchdown passes in four straight games, averaging 336 yards through the air in the process. There’s no reason to think that anything on the offensive end in Cincinnati changes, and that is why I have Burrow ranked as a top-five QB for Monday night football.
The matchup doesn’t scare me, and there are no health concerns to consider. You’re overthinking things if you’re worried about this game getting out of hand — if that happens, Burrow is probably the reason why — but also, this is a four-win team that is struggling to get consecutive stops, let alone look good on both sides of the ball for 60 minutes.
You’re playing Burrow and loving having the late hammer to close Week 14.
Chase Brown, RB
Forget the player. If you were to create a situation for a fantasy running back, how different would it look from what Chase Brown currently has in front of him?
- A porous defense that gives the offense motivation to stay on the field
- A potent passing game that makes loading the box nearly impossible
- No challengers for work in his backfield and a reasonably stationary QB
That’s about as good as it gets, and that’s how we get a drive like Cincinnati’s second one last week against the Steelers.
- Brown off right guard for 13 yards
- Brown off right guard for 41 yards
- Brown up the middle for one yard and a TD
He’s finished each of his past four games as an RB1, and it’s hard to see that changing significantly this week against the worst red-zone defense in all the land (76.9% touchdown rate). For good measure, the Cowboys also have the third-worst overall rush defense by EPA and allow rushing scores to RBs at the highest rate.
It’s the perfect spot for the perfect role. Brown finds himself in some lofty company well inside of my top 10 at the position this week — you’re playing him and loving it.
Khalil Herbert, RB
Khalil Herbert, for me, isn’t in the same tier as a Ray Davis or Tyler Allgeier handcuff, and thus he can be cut loose as the value of every single roster spot increases down the stretch.
Chase Brown is being used as a true bell cow, and while Herbert is technically the next man up, his playing just 3.9% of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps since being acquired indicates that even should an injury occur, this team isn’t ready to unleash the former Bear.
Instead of hanging onto Herbert, I’d rather roster a boom/bust receiver that has access to a weekly ceiling and can thus help me out if I’m in desperation mode.
Ja’Marr Chase, WR
Ja’Marr Chase has caught more than five passes in five straight games and has found pay dirt in five of his past six as he builds a case to be considered the WR1 in 2025 fantasy drafts.
He hooked up with Joe Burrow on a scramble drill for a touchdown last week, displaying the type of non-verbal communication that Cincinnati was betting on when they paired these collegiate teammates with one another. By averaging 1.86 PPR points per target this season, the Bengals are essentially leaving production on the table every time they throw to someone else, something that I think they are aware of.t
The Cowboys have won consecutive games, but the opposing WR1 has been impactful in both (Terry McLaurin had the late 86-yard score in Week 12 and Malik Nabers vacuumed in 13 targets on Thanksgiving). It’s possible that no one on planet Earth can slow Chase, and it’s possible that Dallas can slow very few people on planet Earth — that combination lands him at the top of my Week 14 receiver rankings.
Tee Higgins, WR
Tee Higgins has four top-20 finishes in his seven games this season and has scored five times in his past five games. On a per-game rate, this is the best season of his career when it comes to earning end-zone looks. And by earning a target on 29.3% of his red-zone routes, Higgins’ scoring equity is as high as it’s ever been.
The Cowboys couldn’t stop the Giants from getting the ball to their elite playmaking receiver (Malik Nabers accounted for 38.1% of New York’s receptions on a 40.6% target share), and the Bengals have two players like that who are a threat to score on every target they get.
I have Higgins ranked behind Ja’Marr Chase, but both are to be considered WR1s with the potential to swing your matchup in the final game of Week 14.
Mike Gesicki, TE
For the second consecutive week, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase accounted for the majority of Joe Burrow targets, a condensed tree that is good for Bengal business, but not so much when it comes to trying to pick off value elsewhere in this offense.
Mike Gesiki is a warm body in a fiery offense, and that’s not a bad place to be when trying to stream the position. The former Nittany Lion has run a route on 97.3% of his snaps this season (34 routes per game over the past month), and with a 75% catch rate, Gesicki is viable when given the opportunity — it’s just a toss-up weekly if that’s going to be the case.
I prefer him to Will Dissly and Cade Otton this week, even if it’s just in a low-end TE1 sort of way. Gesicki owns the second-highest aDOT at the position through 13 weeks, and the Cowboys have struggled when attacked vertically.
Cowboys vs. passes thrown 10+ yards downfield, 2024:
- 24th in passer rating
- 25th in yards per completion
- 26th in yards per attempt
- 28th in touchdown rate